Best Boats

There are boats and then there are those boats that turn heads, and for me, the boats built by Hylas have always fallen under the latter category. Sturdy ocean-crossers, these capable couples cruisers beckon to those with dreams of voyaging to distant shores in comfort and ...read more

At this past fall’s Annapolis Boat Show, SAIL magazine had a chance to corner Neel Trimarans founder Eric Bruneel and have him give us a tour of the accommodations aboard the new Neel 51, winner of the “Multihull over 50ft” category in the 2019 Best Boats contest. For a complete ...read more

Anyone under the impression that change in today’s production catamarans is about little more than cosmetics needs to check out the Lagoon 50—an all-new design that went on to become the winner in the 40 to 50ft cruising multihull category in SAIL’s 2019 Best Boats awards. ...read more

This new full-size performance cruiser from Hanse replaces the successful Hanse 575, and includes updates and improvements developed with the help of input from active owners. With an extremely malleable interior (encompassing 72 possible variations) and a vast array of color, ...read more

Jeanneau’s line of Sun Odyssey family cruising boats has been at the core of its identity as a mass-production boatbuilder for several decades now. In introducing this latest iteration of the SO brand, which at 44ft is right in the strike zone of many buyers, Jeanneau has ...read more

Presented by If there’s one word that describes the boats comprising the class of 2018 in SAIL magazine’s annual Best Boats contest it’s “fun.” From the Boreal 47, a rock-solid aluminum bluewater voyager ready and able to take you to the ends of the earth, or the Reverso, an ...read more

Solaris has been building trend-setting yachts in Italy for some 40 years now, and this recent offering falls in the middle of its range. Designed by Argentinian Javier Soto Acebal, who worked with German Frers for some 11 years before striking out on his own, the Solaris 50 ...read more

These days much of the talk at places like the Newport and Annapolis boat shows is about “mini-megayachts.” But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of small-boat builders out there coming out with all kinds of fresh new designs as well—and one of the best is the new Sage ...read more

With this, the fifth model in Catalina’s “5” series of cruising boats, head designer Gerry Douglas has taken a second bite at the competitive 40-42ft market segment. The original Catalina 42 went through several iterations to become one of the most successful boats ever in this ...read more

The Best Boats Class of 2017 might appear staid to some given the many radical innovations the boatbuilding industry has introduced of late, a kind of Thermidorian reaction, a la the French Revolution, following a period of red-hot experimentation. What’s that, you say? You mean ...read more

The Xquisite X5 catamaran is this year’s systems winner in recognition of its beautifully engineered digital switching system and numerous other thoughtful touches, such as universal wall outlets (which will accept European and American-style plugs), USB ports in every cabin, ...read more

Best Small Cruiser This was a decision that provoked some debate among our judges, as the Seascape 24, which boasts a long retractable carbon-fiber bowsprit and a modern go-fast hull form, is obviously designed primarily as a performance boat. However, it is also a simple and ...read more